Michael Reagan, President Reagan’s eldest son, dies at the age of 80

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Reagan, President Ronald Reagan’s eldest son and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80 years old.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social media platform

“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and enduring devotion to the ideals of President Reagan,” the foundation said.

The cause of his death was not immediately announced.

“Michael was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, January 4, surrounded by his entire family,” his wife, Colleen Reagan, and children, Cameron Reagan and Ashley Dunster, wrote in a statement. “Our hearts are deeply broken as we mourn the loss of a man who meant so much to all who knew and loved him.”

Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio show “The Michael Reagan Show.”

Reagan was born to Irene Pflueger in 1945, and was adopted a few hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actress Jane Wyman.

The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.

After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan turned to acting, playing on television shows including “Falcon Crest,” and spending nearly two decades as a conservative radio talk show host, speaking about politics and culture.

In two autobiographical books titled “Looking From the Outside In” and “Twice Adopted,” he spoke at times about a difficult childhood, which included coming to terms with his adoption and his faith journey.

Reagan has written several other books, including “Lessons My Father Taught Me,” published in 2016, in which he detailed the lessons he learned growing up as Ronald Reagan’s son.

Throughout his life, Reagan raised money and worked for charities, using powerboat races as a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund. Reagan was a member of the advisory board of the Mixed Roots Foundation, which focuses on foster care and adoption in the United States and internationally.

Reagan served as chairman of the French John Douglas Alzheimer’s Foundation for three years, working on the same disease from which his father died in 2004.

As president and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation, he championed his father’s legacy. The conservative former president was known for trying to shrink government and devote his presidency to winning the Cold War.